Houghton County Memorial Airport, also known as CMX is our wintry subject today, courtesy of our flight Captain, E. Neil Harri. How neat to see the airport covered in snow like this. Of note, Neil said that in photo #3 you can see runway 7/25, which is closed for the winter and used as a snowblower test area. The other runways in the remaining photos are currently in use at this time.

While thinking about writing these notes, a few questions came to mind, like what does CMX stand for, so I went to the Airport webpage for answers. First of all, CMX is Michigan’s northernmost airport. As for the origin of the CMX name, the webpage had the following information:

“The Airport was constructed through a co-operative agreement (known as the Canadian Michigan Exchange, thus CMX) between the dominion of Canada, the United States Government, the State of Michigan and Houghton County. The planning and construction of the Houghton County Memorial Airport is indicative of the friendly association enjoyed by the two great nations for over 130 years. The Airport serves to perpetuate that neighborliness. "Houghton County Memorial Airport is dedicated to the memory of those who served their country in time of war." In September of 1948, over 20,000 people gathered for the airport dedication ceremony.”

Flew in & out of CMX several times during my stint in the Coast Guard at the old Portage station. I really enjoyed flying in those old twin-engine turboprops (the Blue Goose, we called them) used by North Central Airlines. They were built like tanks!
BTW in the first photo, what are those circular ring things in the upper left? Curious!

Very nice pictures. I've only been there a
handful of times. It was very interesting
reading about the history and where it got
its name. Thanks for looking that up for
us, Mary.

How did I not know about these amusement
parks? That video was so interesting. I
knew there was a Freda park because my
father grew up up there. And my uncle bought
quite a bit of land out there. He had beer
and pop bottles with the name Freda Park on
them, I think. I'll have to find where they
are (still not completely unpacked here) and
grab a picture. So thanks for the history
lesson.

George, those rings are circular test track loops of different radiuses used for vehicle testing, at the Keweenaw Research Center. You can find a map of the test tracks at the website for the KRC: MTUKRC.org

I LOVE Alexis's videos....that girl knows her
stuff. Awesome pics too...I used to work at
Superior Manufacturing and would haul the tool and
die products to the airport for delivery to the
other factory. NO clue what it's called or what
they make now. That was a cool job. And some
interesting rides to work in the winters. lol

Thanks TKH!

Currently... what's the largest aircraft that can
fly in and out of CMX?? Neil??

Great pics & video!

BTW.... Alexis need's to come out of her shell and
be a bit more energetic don't you think!! ;-)

JK, she's great and a fantastic history story
teller!!